Progressive Groups Launch 'We Object' Movement in South RP

A photo exhibit at the Terazza Milesa building at Anda Street in Davao City in Mindanao shows the increasing number of victims of political killings in the southern Philippines. The exhibit opens during the launching Wednesday, September 2, 2009 of 'We Object’ movement by progressive groups following the released this year of an alleged military's order of battle linking civilians, lawyers, church workers and a journalist to communist rebels. (Davao Today / Barry Ohaylan)

Unrelated Killings Or An Undeclared War?

Bayan Muna coordinator Danilo Qualbar was shot four times in the stomach by unidentified armed men but his death merited no outrage, investigation or autopsy. And second photo shows the spot where Qualbar was gunned down November 6 on his way home. And the body of Roel Dotarot, 33, who was one of two Bayan Muna organizers killed in Monkayo town alone within four months in a photo provided by KARAPATAN SOUTHERN MINDANAO. (Alan Davis)

COMPOSTELA VALLEY, Philippines (Philippine Human Rights Reporting Project / Dec. 12, 2008) - Is the recent spate of activist killings in Southern Mindanao an unfortunate series of coincidences or are they somehow related to the Philippine military’s counter-insurgency program Oplan Bantay Laya 2?

Successive reports and claims of shootings involving a red XRM motorbike; the use of a .45 pistol and the fact that three Bayan Muna (People First) organizers and a fourth peasant activist have been killed here since early November suggests a possible link of sorts if not an actual conspiracy.

All three Bayan Muna killings took place within 60 kilometers of each other in Compostela Valley and the neighboring province of Davao del Norte.

The latest victim, Bayan Muna organizer Isabelino Celing, 47, died in Tagum City hospital in Davao del Norte on December 6, six days after being shot and wounded in Monkayo town here.

A week before his killing, a farm activist was gunned down outside Davao. Two weeks earlier, two more Bayan Muna workers were shot dead in separate incidents.

Danilo Qualbar, 48, was the first to die in November. His killing and the authorities’ response to it seems sadly typical: When he was slain on November 6, there was no outrage, no real investigation, no autopsy, no nothing. There was only a simple eulogy delivered in the Compostela town gym attended by his family and friends.

Local ‘investigation’

Three weeks after he was gunned down at a quiet crossroads while riding home to his wife and six children, the police had still to interview his family.

And when the Philippine Human Rights Reporting Project visited Compostela Valley the police chief showed no real eagerness to do so.

“They live up in the hills and besides they don’t want to talk to us,” said Inspector Ali Dampac, chief of the Compostela Municipality Police Force when asked why the police had yet to see them.

Unprompted, the inspector insisted three witnesses including the barangay (village) captain of Qualbar’s hamlet had come forward to say the victim was not a member of Bayan Muna.

But an affidavit signed by Marlyn Caballero, wife of barangay captain Rafael Bugarotan and seen by the Philippine Human Rights Reporting Project makes no mention of whether the victim was a member or not of Bayan Muna.

Qualbar was shot dead at Osmena Crossroads at around 5.30 p.m. Thecrossroads is a ten-minute drive out of Compostela town.

The spot where Qualbar was gunned down November 6 on his way home. ALAN DAVISAccording to witness Henry Balasag, 20, whose home overlooks the spot where Qualbar died, a gunman on a red XRM motorbike pulled up alongside him and shot him four times in the stomach with a handgun.

The killer wore a bull cap, blue jacket and gray knee-length shorts according to Balasag, who says the police failed to interview him. They did however take a statement from his mother who also witnessed the killing. A copy of her statement was given to the Philippine Human Rights Reporting Project by the police.

Balasag said his first reaction was to run to where Qualbar lay dying, but was warned back by his mother. The assailant was still waving the gun around as he tried to ride his motorbike which had toppled over during the shooting. Balasag says he did not get a clear look at the gunman’s face because of the cap.

Three days after Qualbar was killed, another local organizer of Bayan Muna was shot dead in Davao del Norte as he answered his door to two gunmen on the evening of November 10.

Rolando Antolihao, 39, a banana plantation worker and Bayan Muna member was killed around 6 p.m. on November 10 in front of his wife and two-year-old daughter in the municipality of Kapalong, less than 20 kilometers from Tagum City. He was shot seven times according to human rights group Karapatan which visited the isolated scene of the killing the following day.

Two weeks later, a third activist was killed in similar circumstances in Davao City.

A fourth activist, Isabelino Celing, 47, died on December 6 in Tagum City Hospital, six days after being shot by a gunman in Monkayo Town. The gunman also reportedly rode a red XRM motorcycle.

Celing was the second Bayan Muna worker to be killed in Monkayo town in just four months.
The first was Roel Dotarot, 33, who was shot dead on August 15 by two gunmen wearing ski masks. The gun men were also seen beside an XRM bike by witnesses. The color of that bike is not reported.

Not a Bayan Muna member?

Compostela is a rural municipality of 70,000 people in Compostela Valley which is dominated by extensive banana plantations and rice fields from which it generates most of its income. The town itself is little more than a dusty settlement of basic stores, bakeries and short order diners separated by overgrown lots. Yet it attracts people down from the surrounding hills where the roads have yet to reach.

According to Inspector Dampac, Qualbar was a “pure businessman” and was probably killed over a debt or a deal gone bad. The motive for Qualbar’s killing, the police seemed to be suggesting, was anything but political.

“He was not a member of any group,” he told the Philippine Human Rights Reporting Project.
This was also the claim of national task forces assigned to investigate extrajudicial killings.

In a phone interview, Major Henry Libay, secretariat member of the Philippine National Police’s Task Force Usig said Qualbar, Antolihao and Dotarot were not members of Bayan Muna or any other left-leaning group.

Task Force Usig was formed in May 2006 to investigate incidents of slain party list members, activists and media practitioners.

“We have affidavits of the victims’ families, neighbors, village leaders and even the local elections commissions saying that the victims were not members of Bayan Muna. The group claims they are their members but could not present any documents proving such,” Libay said.

Since they do not fall under the mandate of Task Force Usig, these cases are relegated to the local police for resolution. They are classified as murder or homicide cases, Libay said.

Justice undersecretary Ricardo Blancaflor, who heads the Task Force 211, told the Philippine Human Rights Reporting Project in a separate phone interview: “The general view is that aside from their organizational work, they also did some part time work in buying and selling of gold.”
Formed by the President on November 2006, Task Force 211 is officially mandated to “harness and mobilize” government agencies, civil society, and the public to prevent, investigate and prosecute political violence.

The two task forces converge with other government agencies in cases that are identified as extrajudicial killings.

Blancaflor implied that the victims may have been killed due to their involvement in mining operations in the area, not because of their political affiliations. “They have their businesses, too,” he said.

These claims are flatly contradicted by Qualbar’s widow Aurelia, the Karapatan, and by a local member of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP or the Philippine Peasant Movement) who maintains she had known him since 2001.

As well as being the local coordinator of Bayan Muna, Qualbar was also the information officer of the KMP-affiliated Compostela Farmers Association according to these same three sources.

If Qualbar was indeed a businessman or gold miner, he was not a very successful one. His house is found a tough one hour off-road drive up high in the hills in the tiny hamlet of Sitio Nursery in Barangay Ngan. His home was a wooden shack on stilts decorated only by a large poster of Britney Spears. The ground 10 feet below is clearly visible between gaps in the floorboards.

With quiet determination in her voice, Mrs. Qualbar insists her husband’s death followed on from and was directly related to a local radio report she heard announcing the army was launching “clean-up operations”‘ after an October 24 clash between the military and the communist New People’s Army (NPA) in nearby New Bataan town.

Compostela Valley is a known stronghold of the NPA and a key focus for the Philippine military’s campaign Oplan Bantay Laya 2, the publicly declared government attempt to end the long-running communist insurgency by 2010.

Mrs. Qualbar insists her husband was never an NPA member, but had been a frequent participant in ‘anti-militarization rallies’ in both New Bataan and in Davao.

“I know who killed him,” she says.

“On November 1, a week before he was shot, he came home and told me had been identified out loud by two military intelligence officers as he passed the checkpoint (72nd Infantry Battalion) near here. I told him that his life was in danger and that he should leave.

“When he passed by the soldiers, he told me, one of the men there had called out ‘that one’,” Mrs. Qualbar said.

Compostela town police said they had “no idea about any threats made at any checkpoints” and “could not say the AFP (army) are suspects.”

According to Mrs. Qualbar, the same day, in the morning, she had seen two soldiers drinking across from her house in the general store opposite.

“They were tall, of regular build, in their 30s or 40s and were wearing civilian clothes,” she said. “They spoke Cebuano, with a Visayan accent.”

She maintains she never saw them again after November 1.

But Mrs. Qualbar does claim family friends spotted another ‘military-looking’ man ‘following her husband and texting’ somebody outside Kings Bakery in Compostela town moments before Danilo climbed onboard his bike for his fateful ride home.

Mrs. Qualbar believes the man was texting an accomplice -- possibly the gunman.
“Members of CAFGU (Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit) came here a few days ago asking me where my husband was buried,” she said. “They were joking with me, trying to upset me. I told them, you know. You know.”

There were no soldiers manning the checkpoint near Qualbar’s home when this writer drove past.

Branding

The writer however spoke with Colonel Alan Luga, commander-in-chief of the 1001st Infantry Brigade in Compostela province. Originally from Cebu, the son of a general and seen by many as a rising star in the Philippine military, Luga insists the army was in no way connected to the killing of Qualbar.

“If people have evidence, let us see it,” he said when this writer finally caught up with him at an early evening badminton game in Tagum City.

According to the colonel, orders, discipline and full awareness of and adherence to human rights law ensure that extrajudicial killings simply do not happen in the army.

“It is well known that Karapatan and Bayan Muna are civilian fronts for the NPA,” he said, “but as long as they stick to the law, we do not go after them.”

“Even NPA members are safe,” he said, “unless actively involved in armed combat. The only legitimate targets are armed groups.

“We must be legal,” he added, “we must do good.”

Colonel Luga admitted the army did have a problem in winning the “hearts and minds” of some people in the areas and needed to do more. He also maintained Compostela Valley had the highest number of NPA insurgents in the country, but that their numbers and threat were slowly declining.

“They are getting weaker,” he said. “The problem is they are targeting and recruiting youngsters -- not necessarily believers, but those with a sense of adventure who have no jobs and nothing to do.”

“I’ve been here just six months and I have seen a lot of incidents,” he said.

But Bayan Muna party list Representative Satur Ocampo told the Philippine Human Rights Reporting Project that the reactions of the military and police to the killings were wholly predictable – and wholly wrong.

“They should take heed the recommendation of the UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Killing that the President should instruct all military commanders to stop denigrating or labeling legal organizations,” Ocampo said.

He also pointed out the government’s failure to heed recommendation by the Melo Commission to investigate retired Army general Jovito Palparan, accused by many in connection to the disappearances of activists in central and southern Luzon but denies such charges. The five-man commission was formed in August 2006 to probe killings of activists and journalists and was headed by former Supreme Court Associate Justice and current elections commission chair Jose Melo.

“It would be fruitless for the families of victims and human rights organizations to present their cases to Task Force Usig given the bias it has shown from the very start,” Ocampo said.

The writer met Colonel Luga in Tagum City a few days after the NPA released video footage taken of Lieutenant Vicente Cammayo who is being held captive by the NPA after it captured him during a recent clash between the military and the communist guerrillas.

Cammayo’s wife Mariel who is six months pregnant, recently appeared on television appealing for his release. Like the military, the NPA have been accused of their own human rights abuses including extrajudicial killings committed under the precept of so-called “people’s revolutionary courts”.

The NPA which has promised to release Cammayo before Christmas, also recently “apologized” for the killing of a five-year-old girl, Kyle Manegro who was shot during its attack on the military.

Besides flatly denying an army policy of extrajudicial killings, Colonel Luga wholly rejected any possibility of errant death squads operating within the military as he did suggestions similar squads might be responsible for a recent spike in killings in nearby Davao City.

According to Davao City police in a statement released last week, there have been “at least 221 killings”‘there between January and October this year. Many have reportedly been petty criminals and victims of robberies.

But human rights groups like Karapatan insist there have also been a spate of political killings directly related to Oplan Bantay Laya 2.

It is a claim they cannot substantiate.

Kelly Delgado, secretary general of Karapatan South Mindanao Region says his group only travels into Compostela Valley in teams of 20 to 30 strong.

“It is a high militarized zone and it is not safe for us to go there alone or even in small groups,” he said from his first floor office in Davao City inside a church compound.

According to a Karapatan map and report prepared at the scene of the Antolihao killing, two gunmen were dropped by a third accomplice on a motorcycle at the entrance to a thick banana grove and walked up to his house, knocking the door and claiming to be his neighbor Manggoy.

Karapatan claimed the gunmen would have passed directly in front of Guadalupe Chapel and a small military camp from the AFP 60th Infantry Battalion behind it. The camp is just 50 meters from the victim’s house according to the map.

Colonel Luga confirmed that the army’s standing orders require soldiers to immediately respond to any shooting incidents. According to Karapatan however, the soldiers in Kapalong remained at their post.

“It was early evening and it is a very quiet and isolated place,” Delgado said. “It is impossible that they did not hear the shooting.”

According to a police report filed on November 11 by senior officer Jose Tanduyan of Kapalong police, the scene of the incident “was already totally altered and contaminated due to the presence of several curious persons.”

The police found a slipper and pair of sunglasses near the shooting and have linked them to the case, but report the motive of the killing “is still to be ascertained.”

The police also recovered several .45 bullet casings and one “deformed 0.45 slug,” according to their own report.

Karapatan also claimed a 0.45 caliber pistol was used to kill Qualbar -- though no documentary evidence was provided.

Roel Dotarot, 33, was one of two Bayan Muna organizers killed in Monkayo town alone within four months.

Less than two weeks after the Antolihao killing, three unidentified men interrupted an evening meeting of farming activists in Paquibato District just outside Davao City on November 22 before they shot and killed Vicente Paglinawan, vice-president of Pambansang Kilusan ng Samahang Magsasaka (PAKISAMA), a national confederation of 28 local peasant and farmers’ groups.

Delgado said that his group was still trying to investigate that incident.

The Karapatan Southern Mindanao Region secretary general says he himself received a death threat after publicizing the killing of well-known local activist and peasant leader Celso Pojas in May this year.

Delgado was one of the first to arrive on the scene after Pojas, KMP secretary general was gunned down in front of his office located less than two kilometers from Karapatan’s own modest headquarters here.

Pojas was reportedly preparing to go to Compostela the following day and had allegedly received a series of death threats before his killing. He was a highly vocal critic of the Philippine army and its operations in the valley.

Delgado, who took a series of photos of the body and drafted the initial report into Pojas’ killing, claims he in turn started receiving death threats the following day after appearing on a radio show in Kidapawan City to talk about the case.

The text that threats to put Delgado “in the ground” were sent to local Charm Radio station and were relayed to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of the Right to Free Expression Ambayi Ligabo.

The UN sent letters to both the Philippine Foreign Ministry and Davao City police which resulted in Delgado being called into the headquarters there on August 1 and offered police protection.

“The three texts accused Karapatan of being a front for the NPA and said I would be the next one to be eliminated,” Delgado said. “They said that was what was wrong with NPA supporters.

If something happens to the NPA they immediately blame the soldiers, but if a soldier dies, they don’t speak out. They said I was already six feet under the ground.”

Despite the threats, Delgado rejected the offer of police protection.

“Nobody would talk to us freely if we turned up with a policeman,” he said. “We couldn’t do our job like that.”

At the same time, Delgado takes the threats seriously as Karapatan’s policies for traveling into Compostela Valley suggest. He also claims the group in Davao is being monitored by people in a black 4 x 4 Lancer with the license plate PPN 665.

“It follows us around – especially when we have events like pickets or assemblies,” he said. “We don’t know who is inside it as we are afraid to go up and knock on the window.”

Given the recent spate of killings, Karapatan members may have good reason to be both cautious and alarmed – both for themselves and for the communities and people they claim to be serving.

Regardless of whether Karapatan and like-minded groups are or are not linked in some way to the NPA, it is a pattern of some sort that surrounds the killings –and it is a pattern that demands investigation.

At the very least, the victims and their families deserve that much.

None of the local police forces have clear descriptions of the killers, but they do have all the spent bullet casings and so can examine whether the same gun was used in two or more of the shootings. That in itself would point to some kind of conspiracy: Even if tests came back negative, it would at least show the authorities were taking the series of incidents seriously.

Until they do, Bayan Muna members, peasant groups and human rights activists here in Southern Mindanao are probably right to feel scared and wonder what is behind all the killings and who may be next. (Philippine Human Rights Reporting Project / Alan Davis. The author is Director of the Philippine Human Rights Reporting Project and also Institute for War and Peace Reporting special projects.)

College Editors Mourn Death Of Press Freedom Fighter

The College Editors Guild of the Philippines, in behalf of its National Office, regional formations and chapters, all member publications and affiliate organizations nationwide and across the globe, expresses its most heartfelt condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of Rachelle Mae Palang (1986-2008).

Rachelle, or Mae-Mae to her closest friends and colleagues, was beloved to the Guild for her bubbly, tongue-in-cheek demeanor. She graced the Guild's gatherings with her easy banter and infectious smile, but was always brisk and business-like in her leadership.

She has served as a valuable pillar and driving force in all of the conventions and gatherings she has attended and helped organize. To most Guilders, she was not only a colleague but a precious friend and confidante.

Shock for her untimely demise are evident in her Friendster and Multiply accounts, riddled with comments ranging from disbelief, grief, and even anger – all directed at her, as if to attest that even at the time of her death her friends and colleagues still go to her for conciliation.
Such was Mae-Mae's legacy and brand of leadership. She has always been easy to approach, a rational adviser and generous in her time and efforts.

Mae-Mae was also an outstanding student at the Velez College in Cebu City where she took up and finished her nursing degree. She became editor-in-chief of Vital Signs, the official campus publication. As campus journalist and student leader, she exemplified deep commitment to uphold press freedom, freedom of speech and students' democratic rights and welfare. She is respected by her fellow campus journalists nationwide for her wit, intelligence and sharp grasp of issues.

She was elected as Vice President for the Visayas during CEGP's 67th National Student Press Convention and 33rd Biennial Student Press Congress held in Albay, Bicol in 2005. She served her term for three consecutive years before she finally relinquished her post May of this year. The CEGP will without end be honored and grateful to have had someone as dedicated as Mae-Mae as one of its leading officers.

Mae-Mae worked hard to help re-open closed campus publications, establish student papers in universities who had none, and expose and fight campus press freedom violations as well as other forms of campus repression nationwide. She led, organized and participated in countless poetry readings, cultural nights, Writers' Trips, journalist skills workshops and protest actions and activities.

Even after her stint as VP for the Visayas, she proved instrumental in gathering and collating cases of campus press freedom violations in the region for CEGP's quarterly digest.

Mae-Mae had to cut short her attendance in CEGPs' 68th National Student Press Convention and 34th Biennial Student Press Congress in Davao City for her scheduled nursing licensure exams in May 2008. She passed with flying colors and eventually became a registered nurse.

Even before she left, she announced to the Guild her desire to pursue an alternative medical career, one that she would devote to the less-privileged. Mae-Mae also took and passed the National Medical Admission Test. She dreamt of becoming a doctor.

It therefore did not come as a surprise to the Guild to learn that upon achieving her nursing license Mae-Mae immediately volunteered for a three-month medical mission to the hinterlands of Negros. Mae-Mae barely finished her volunteer work in Negros when her dreams died with her.

Mae-Mae was killed by elements of the Armed Forces of the Philippines on September 18, 2008 in an alleged encounter with New People's Army rebels. Her face was barely recognizable; she was shot at point-blank range. Her feet and legs were black and bruised, signs of torture evident elsewhere in her beaten body.

Mae-Mae's untimely demise reminds the Guild all too painfully of the same fate that another CEGP alumna suffered under the hands of the AFP.

In April 2002, Benjaline 'Beng' Hernandez, former CEGP Vice-President for Mindanao and a human rights volunteer, was murdered by the military while conducting a fact-finding mission in Cotabato province.

Investigations revealed that the AFP, after wounding Beng, raped and shot her at close range. The AFP later on insisted that Beng was an NPA rebel.Beng, like Mae-Mae, was also only 22 years old when she died.

The CEGP condemns in strongest terms accusations and insinuations by the AFP that Mae-Mae was armed and a combatant. She was in Negros in her capacity as a registered nurse and circumstances surrounding her brutal killing should be independently investigated.

The CEGP, in this regard, welcomes initiatives by the Commission on Human Rights Regional Office to conduct an investigation on Mae-Mae's case.

The CEGP is also reviled at the AFP's gall to celebrate Mae-Mae's death by bestowing incentives and acclaim to her killers. It is an awful and terrible reminder of the state and characteristic of our security forces. They who are supposed to protect civilians are the main enemies of human rights defenders and social workers.

The CEGP also condemns in strongest terms the AFP's malicious attempts to malign the Guild's name through red-tagging and nasty insinuations. It is precisely this kind of twisted mentality that gives license to the military to repress, harass, silence and kill with impunity. Journalists are easily treated and branded as rebels simply because they are exposed to the ills of society.

The CEGP calls on all its member publications and fellow journalist organizations nationwide and abroad to collectively wield their pens and raise their voices to denounce Mae-Mae's killers.

The CEGP regards the likes of Beng and Mae-Mae as heroes of the present generation, young martyrs who have chosen to exchange their lives of comfort for their noble convictions.

US: Political Killings Still A Problem In RP - ABS-CBN TV

Arbitrary, unlawful arrests and extra-judicial and political killings continued to be a major problem in the Philippines in 2007, the United States government said Wednesday.

In its 2007 report on the human rights conditions in the Philippines (http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2007/100535.htm), Washington noted that many of these killings went unsolved and unpunished despite intensified efforts of the government to investigate and prosecute these cases.

“Concerns about impunity persisted. Members of the security services committed acts of physical and psychological abuse on suspects and detainees, and there were instances of torture,” the report said, adding: “Arbitrary or warrantless arrests and detentions were common. Trials were delayed, and procedures were prolonged. Prisoners awaiting trial and those already convicted were often held under primitive conditions.”

Left-wing and human rights activists were often subject to harassment by local security forces, the report said.

The US also noted that corruption has pervaded institutions making up the criminal justice system, including police, prosecutorial and judicial organs.

Problems such as violence against women and abuse of children, child prostitution, trafficking in persons, child labor, and ineffective enforcement of worker rights were also common.

The report took note of the measures taken by the Philippine government to step up its investigation and prosecution of cases of arbitrary, unlawful, and extrajudicial killings.

It said these measures included the creation of human rights offices in the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police, the Supreme Court’s petition for a writ of amparo, and President Arroyo’s directive for “cooperation and coordination” between prosecutors and police from the outset of a political or media killing "until the termination of cases in court."

“The full results of these reforms in terms of indictments and convictions were not yet visible, but government agencies, human rights nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and even some of the government's critics noted a significant decrease in the number of killings,” the report said.

Philippines Military Executing Leftist Activists, UN Independent Expert Finds

The Armed Forces of the Philippines has been executing leftist activists in recent years, an independent United Nations human rights expert said in a new report which welcomes Government measures to address the problem while emphasizing the need to end impunity through prosecution and punishment.

“A significant number of the hundreds of extrajudicial executions of leftist activists in the Philippines that have taken place over the past six years are the result of deliberate targeting by the military as part of counterinsurgency operations against the communist rebels,” said Philip Alston, the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions.

The report which is accessible on this URL http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=24799&Cr=philippine&Cr1= was released on Tuesday. And the Philippine military has strongly denied the allegations it was behind the killings.

During a fact-finding mission earlier this year to the South-East Asian nation, Mr. Alston – who serves in an unpaid, personal capacity – investigated the killings in depth.

He interviewed victims or witnesses to 57 incidents involving 96 extrajudicial executions. He met with Government officials of all ranks, including local military commanders as well as the President, as well as with the leaders of the communist rebels’ National Democratic Front (NDF).

In a statement, he said he was “encouraged” by various measures adopted recently by the Government and by the fact that he had met with the country’s Executive Secretary in New York, but also stressed that those responsible for killings must be prosecuted and punished to stop them.

“The Government has undertaken a range of welcome reforms, but the fact remains that not a single soldier has been convicted in any of the cases involving leftist activists,” he said.

“In some parts of the country, the armed forces have followed a deliberate strategy of systematically hunting down the leaders of leftist organization,” Mr. Alston noted. “As commander-in-chief, the President must take concrete steps to end such operations.”

Since 1968, the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) – which has an armed faction, the New People’s Army (NPA), and a civil society group, the NDF – has aimed to revolutionize what it views as the country’s “semi-feudal” society.

The Rapporteur said that the military officers he interviewed “relentlessly pushed” the theory that such extrajudicial executions had in fact been committed by the rebels to simultaneously remove spies while discrediting the Government, and he reviewed all of the documentation provided to support this idea.

“The military’s argument that the leftist activists who have been killed are the victims of a ‘purge’ by the rebels is strikingly unconvincing and can only be viewed as a cynical attempt to displace responsibility,” he said.

The Rapporteur criticized the rebels themselves for participating in some extrajudicial executions of civilians who are not directly involved with the hostilities and the death threats they have made against political opponents.

“The death sentences imposed by their ‘people’s courts’ provide only a veneer of legality for what is really vigilantism or murder,” he said.

During his visit to the Philippines, Mr. Alston also investigated extrajudicial executions in western Mindanao and the Sulu archipelago, which have seen armed conflict involving several insurgent and terrorist groups, including the Moro National Liberation Front, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the Abu Sayyaf Group.

Since witnesses in the regions live in great fear and it is difficult to ascertain who is responsible for abuses, he said that bolstered human rights monitoring is crucial to protect the civilian population.

Mr. Alston also looked into the actions of a death squad in Davao City on the island of Mindanao, interviewing victims and witnesses as well as speaking with local police, military officers and the mayor.

“The mayor’s position that he can do nothing to stop men without masks from routinely killing children for petty crimes in full view of witnesses lacks all credibility,” he said in the report. “Mayor Duterte should be stripped of his control over the local police, and the national Government should assume responsibility for dismantling the death squad and prosecuting its members.”

Churches Sound Alarm on Secret Killings: Christian Post

Church leaders across denominational lines and from around the world gathered in the Philippines this past week to respond to the hundreds of extrajudicial killings and “disappearances” of mostly human rights activists in the archipelagic nation.

To date, more than 800 people have been killed and hundreds missing since President Gloria Arroyo took office in 2001, according to the United Methodist News Service. Among the victims are dozens of lawyers, judges, and church leaders.

“There has been an unprecedented increase in violations of human rights, and the brazenness, brutality and impunity by which they are being perpetrated by the military, police, paramilitary groups and death squads under the command, control, inducement or tolerance of the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo have reached alarming proportions,” the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers stated, according to UMNS.

In response, the general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), the Rev. Dr. Samuel Kobia, who spoke last Wednesday at a press conference in Manila, called for stronger ecumenical advocacy efforts to bring the Philippines under international scrutiny.

Kobia reaffirmed the WCC’s “unequivocal condemnation” of the extrajudicial killings and its “grave concern” regarding the increased militarization of the Philippines, according to WCC.

The leaders of the ecumenical body said the WCC will bring victims of human rights abuses in the Philippines to the upcoming session of the Geneva-based U.N. Human Rights Council, which the country is a member of.

“We condemn the ongoing practice of the Philippine government and the military of labeling and persecuting the churches, pastors and church workers who work for justice, peace and protection of human rights as subversives or communists,” Kobia said.

Attention was brought to the killings of several church workers and pastors in recent months, including the “brutal stabbing” of Philippines Independent Church Bishop Alberto Ramento in October last year, Kobia told journalists.

In August, Philippine Supreme Court Chief Justice Reynato Puno, a United Methodist, called a summit in Manila to expose the crisis. In the following months, the number of killings decreased, but the number of disappearances rose, according to Edre Olalia, international officer for the Counsel for the Defense of Liberties.

“There’s a perceptible shift after the worldwide condemnation and concern and especially after the summit,” Olalia said.

WCC’s Kobia called for the Philippines government to “take necessary action to stop the enforced disappearances” and “put an end to extrajudicial killings.” He also called for “an immediate and impartial investigation of all recent extrajudicial executions.” (Ethan Cole)

Stop RP Killings, US Solons Tell Arroyo: Manila Mail

WASHINGTON D.C. – Filipino groups in the US have hailed the letter signed by a bipartisan group of 49 congressmen asking President Gloria Arroyo to stop the extra-judicial killings in the Philippines saying it was an unprecedented act.

Katarungan’s committee for peace, justice and human rights in the Philippines in the tri-date area said that “not even during dark days of the Marcos dictatorship did US members of Congress deliver a letter of concern to the President protesting human rights abuses." The recent Methodist conference in Virginia Beach issued a resolution hailing the bi-partisian group of representatives.

It said the issue of human rights under President Arroyo is not just an issue of the Filipino-American community, but has become an issue for US lawmakers whose diverse constituents have raised concern over how their tax dollars may be being misused by Philippine security forces to kill, abduct and torture Filipinos exercising their democratic right to dissent.

In Manila, Malacanang said it was still verifying the authenticity of the letter and signatures of the congressmen.

Katarungan said that while Filipino American organizations mobilized to get the signatures of the congressmen, a good number who signed represented districts not known for having a large Filipino American population.

“It is truly a sad state of affairs when policy makers of another nation are compelled to request President Arroyo to exert ‘strong and immediate leadership’ because her administration has inadequately responded to the urging of its own citizenry.

Based on the current Philippine administration’s track record in responding to international outcry about the killings, we unfortunately do not expect a qualitative change in the human rights situation, which makes one wonder what it will truly take to stop the killings.

“As the cases of extra-judicial killings and abductions continue unabated, the Philippine government should also expect escalating forms of pressure from Filipino-Americans and the American public," it said.

Among the signatories to the letter are chairmen or ranking members of vital committees in the House of Representatives. Among them are Reps. Tom Lantos (Democrat-California), Committee on Foreign Affairs; David Obey (Democrat-Wisconsin), Ways and Means Committee; John Lewis (Democrat-Georgia), Oversight Subcommittee; Mike Honda (D-CA). Asian-Pacific American Caucus; James Oberstar (D-Minnesota) and Joseph Pitts (R-PA).

The letter said “the well-documented violence that continues with impunity must be ended.” They urged Arroyo to show strong and immediate leadership to put a top to the extra-judicial killings and other human rights abuses.

It said: “Since the extrajudicial killings in the Philippines continue unabated, and given the fact that there are many unanswered questions about the role of the Philippine government and military in these deaths, we respectfully request your strong and immediate leadership in investigating and prosecuting those individuals and/or groups, including those in the AFP [Armed Forces of the Philippines] and PNP [Philippine National Police], responsible for these killings, and in eliminating the underlying causes of the violence."

Describing the letter as “a sincere communication between the two governments" intended to elicit a positive response from the Philippine government, the US legislators’ letter aired deep concerns over a “growing environment of impunity” in the Philippines.

“The killing of civilians who are peacefully exercising their lawful right in a democratic society to express dissent is a gross violation of universally recognized human rights and international law," the solons said.

They have also expressed concern that US aid to the Philippine military and police is being used to commit the killings, which human rights groups estimate have claimed the lives of more than 800 people — mostly left-wing activists — since Arroyo came to power in 2001, and other human rights violations as part of the government’s counterinsurgency program.

“We are very concerned that the extra-judicial killings could be a conscious and systematic part of the Philippine government’s counterinsurgency program and that financial assistance from our government is being used to support, directly or indirectly, those within the PNP and AFP who are responsible for the killings," they said.

They said the numerous reports that our offices “receive indicate the need for our close monitoring of this situation, particularly regarding the alleged use of US assistance to implement the abductions and killings."

The 49 US lawmakers who signed the letter to Arroyo are: Brian Baird (Democrat-Washington), Tammy Baldwin (Democrat-Wisconsin), Howard Berman (Democrat-California), Dan Burton (Republican-Indiana), Julia Carson (Democrat-Indiana), Rosa DeLauro (Democrat-Connecticut), Keith Ellison (Democrat-Minnesota), Phil English (Republican-Pennsylvania), Sam Farr (Democrat-California), Chaka Fattah (Democrat-Pennsylvania), Trent Franks (Democrat-Massachusetts).

Raul Grijalva (Democrat-Arizona), Luis Gutierrez (Democrat-Illinois), Maurice Hinchey (Democrat-New York), Mike Honda (Democrat-California), Jesse Jackson (Democrat-Illinois), Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (Democrat-Michigan), Mark-Steven Kirk (Republican-Illinois), Dennis Kucinich (Democrat-Ohio), Tom Lantos (Democrat-California), Rick Larsen (Democrat-Washington), Barbara Lee (Democrat-California).

John Lewis (Democrat-Georgia), David Loebsack (Democrat-Iowa) , Zoe Lofgren (Democrat-California), Doris Matsui (Democrat-California), Betty McCollum (Democrat-Minnesota), Jim McDermott (Democrat-Washington), James McGovern (Democrat-Massachusetts), Jerry McNerney (Democrat-California), Mike McNulty (Democrat-New York), Jerry Moran (Republican-Kansas), James Oberstar (Democrat-Minnesota), David Obey (Democrat-Wisconsin).

Donald Payne (Democrat-New Jersey), Collin Peterson (Democrat-Minnesota), Joe Pitts (Republican-Pennsylvania), David Price (Democrat-North Carolina), Jim Ramstad (Republican, Minnesota), Steven Rothman (Democrat-New Jersey), Bobby Rush (Democrat-Illinois), Jan Schakowsky (Democrat-Illinois), Adam Smith (Democrat-Washington), Fortney Stark (Democrat-California), Ellen Tauscher (Democrat-California), Lee Terry (Republican-Nebraska), John Tierney (Democrat-Massachusetts), Tim Walz (Democrat-Minnesota), and Frank Wolf (Republican-Virginia).

Last March, Karapatan, the Ecumenical Advocacy Network and other human rights groups staged demonstrations on Capitol Hill and testified in the Senate hearings chaired by Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) about the unabated extra-judicial killings.

Sen. Boxer warned she would move for the reduction of military aid unless the government did something to stop the killings.

“As you may know, there is increasing evidence from well-regarded human rights organizations, including the Melo Commission created by your government, which indicates the involvement of personnel from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP)" in the killings, the solons’ letter told Arroyo.

Amnesty International and the United Nations Special Rapporteur Philip Alston have reported similar findings.

Karapatan said that since Arroyo became president in 2001 until May 15 this year, there have been 863 extra-judicial executions (including 51 journalists) and 196 abductions.

The US State Department has proposed trimming US military aid to the Philippines from $30 million to a little over $11 million. But some members of Congress said this was only a recommendation and that they want the level to be the same as this year’s.

The lawmakers also cited the May 27 abduction of Pastor Berlin Guerrero, who was allegedly beaten by the abductors until he gave them the names of his family, parishioners, friends, and the password to his computer.

The abductors reportedly then replaced Guerrero’s computer documents with incriminating documentation connecting Guerrero to the underground left.(Manila Mail)

AFP, Bulag Pa Rin Sa 3 Heneral Na Whistle-Blower!

MANILA (Mindanao Examiner / 25 Jun) – Bulag pa rin ang liderato ng Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) sa mga sinasabing heneral na handang tumulong at magbigay ng mga ebidensya kay Senator-elect Antonio Trillanes IV upang idiin ang militar sa umano’y pagkakasangkot ng kapwa heneral sa extrajudicial killings ng mga militante at aktibista sa bansa.

Pilit naman pinalulutang ni AFP spokesman Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro ang tatlong heneral na handing lumabas at tumestigo upang mabigyan umano ng kredibilidad ang kanilang mga alegasyon.

Ngunit malaki ang hinalang oras na lumutang ang tatlong heneral ay siguradong babalikan sila ng AFP at posibleng masibak pa sa puwesto upang pagtakpan ang pagkakasanggkot ng ibang heneral sa extra-judicial killings.

Sinabi ni Bacarro na patuloy ang kanilang pagbeberipika kung sinu-sino ang mga nasabing heneral at seryosong inuungkat ang mga akusasyon bagamat pinaninindigang hindi polisiya ng AFP ang makisangkot sa political killings.

Aminado si Bacarro na nahihirapan ang AFP na paghahanap sa mga naturang heneral na posibleng pinalulutang lamang din ng nais manira sa organisasyon.

"It can be rumors that could have been manufactured by some interest groups with the intent of destroying the Armed Forces. Though, we are not ignoring it, it is also a concern of the AFP, that's why we are conducting the verification," ani Bacarro.

Hindi aniya madali ang beripikasyon dahil posibleng magkamali sa kanilang konklusyon kung kayat kailangan ring maging maingat.

Gayunman, may babala si Bacarro na mahaharap sa paglilitis ng military court ang mga naturang heneral kung hindi ito tatalima sa chain of command.

Unang kumanta sa media ang dalawang heneral na nagsabing naroon sila sa isang pulong ng pagusapan ang umano’y planong paglikida sa mga militante at aktibista. Mula ng umupo si Pangulong Gloria Arroyo nuong 2001 ay umabot na sa halos 900 ang bilang ng mga aktibistang napapatay. Marami sa kanila ay dinukot at hindi na matagpuan. (Juley Reyes at Juan Magtanggol)

Protests, Rallies Shame Arroyo In New Zealand

(Video by gbgcommunications)

Anti-Arroyo protests in New Zealand. (KMU photos contributed to the Mindanao Examiner)

MANILA - Delegates to the interfaith dialogue hosted by Prime Minister Helen Clark at Waitangi in New Zealand, were left in no doubt about the real issues of peace, security and tolerance that should be on their agenda, the National Distribution Union said on Tuesday.

Banners reading "Stop the Killings Gloria" and "Stop the Killings in the Philippines" highlighted the appalling record of human rights violations under President Gloria Arroyo, a co-host of the forum, it said.

Dozens of white wooden crosses were planted in the ground at the entry to the treaty grounds to symbolize the 858 extra judicial killings during the Arroyo regime.

Photographs of slain protestant Bishop Alberto Ramento and other victims showed the human face of this travesty.

Renowned New Zealand law professor Jane Kelsey said that crosses planted at the entry to the Copthorne Hotel made it impossible for Arroyo to miss the protest when she arrived to address the conference.

"Our noisy reception sent President Arroyo a clear message to stop the killings, for which the UN rapporteur holds her ultimately responsible," she said. "Equally, Helen Clark was challenged for hosting someone with a proven record of gross human rights violations.

"It's no longer acceptable for our Prime Minister to claim that she has raised these issues with President Arroyo. Past assurances have been shown to be worthless. The time has come for the New Zealand Government to put its money where its mouth is. Instead of channeling 'technical assistance' funding to the Philippines government that is responsible for the violations, it should direct that money to the churches and other independent human rights advocacy organizations."

A local Maori leader, Arthur Harawira, also led a protest on his ancestral grounds.

"I challenge the hypocrisy of the New Zealand government for holding this event on the sacred grounds of Waitangi in an attempt to give legitimacy to an illegitimate occasion,” he said.

Harawira drew links between the struggles of Maori with the struggles of the indigenous peoples and workers in the Philippines.

Dennis Maga, spokesman for the "Free Ka Bel" movement, urged inter-faith participants not to sit at the table with governments, like that of President Arroyo, who are responsible for gross human rights violations in their own countries.

"Yesterday, another UCCP pastor Berlin Guerrero has been abducted and found tortured by the Philippine National Police and charged with inciting to sedition dating back to 1991 and 1992."

"This reality flies in the face of President Arroyo’s assurances repeated at the press conference yesterday that her Government was fighting to improve its record in the killings," he said.

The militant Kilusang Mayo Uno said Tuesday President Arroyo humiliated herself in New Zealand by not telling the truth about state of human rights in the Philippines.

It also said that Philippine authorities are planning to arrest Maga as soon as he returns to Manila from New Zealand for leading the protest against Arroyo’s visit.

"Reliable sources have informed us that the Philippine government is planning to arrest Dennis Maga upon his arrival from New Zealand on June 2. Obviously, Arroyo was embarrassed in New Zealand that's why Malakanyang is posing to arrest Maga and further suppress the advocates of democracy," Maria Theresa Dioquino, KMU International Affairs Secretary, said in a statement sent to the independent regional newspaper, the Mindanao Examiner.

Maga was among the protesters who rallied against President Arroyo at the Parliament during her state visit to New Zealand.

He was hosted by the National Distribution Union of New Zealand, also supporting for the release of Anakpawis solon Crispin Beltran, who has been tagged by the Philippine military as an alleged supporter of the Maoist rebel group, New People’s Army, the armed wing of the outlawed Communist Party of the Philippines.

"We are just stating facts about the Arroyo government's grave human right violations. It is Arroyo who embarrassed herself when she flagrantly lied about the state of human rights in the Philippines.

The young labor leader was 'caged' outside the New Zealand Parliament as his symbolic protest against the Philippine government's continued detention of Beltran.

The incident stirred huge media attention from New Zealand and the Philippines and the international media.

The protests countered Arroyo's boasting of her 'exemplary' human rights record in the Philippines.

Labor unions and progressive groups in New Zealand which are allied with the KMU and FKBM condemned Beltran’s continued illegal detention and the spate of political killings in the Philippines.

While activists criticized President Arroyo, Malakanyang issued a statement boasting her strong pitch for the promotion of interfaith dialogue to bring about lasting peace, political stability and economic growth in Asia.

"In Mindanao, we have taken steps to bring interfaith forces to bear upon a peace process that has resulted in a three-year ceasefire and monumental strides in economic growth," she said.

Extolling New Zealand’s role in the Mindanao Trust Fund, President Arroyo hailed the key role Prime Minister Clark plays in fostering interfaith dialogue in the resolution of conflicts, the promotion of peace and economic growth.

The Mindanao Trust Fund is intended for the development of Mindanao.

"I am here as a follower and participant to promote interfaith collaboration in education, security, social development and media," she said.

The President said that apart from its assistance to Mindanao, New Zealand plays a major role in East Asia’s "determined journey of consolidation since last year."

"As chair of the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), I have witnessed the warming of ties between ASEAN, China and Japan within the context of common prosperity and collective security," she said.

She pointed out that "East Asia is coming of age in this millennium as a global leader for equitable trade with a clear social dividend and solid security with a soft touch. Our relations with New Zealand are incorporated in this paradigm."

Noted for its commitment to human rights, protection of the environment, peace and interfaith dialogue, New Zealand brings to East Asia, the "soft strategies that guarantee peace, reinforcing the hard elements such as joint military training and law enforcement operations that we share with allies like Australia and the United States," the President said. (Mindanao Examiner)

Gunman Assassinates Mayoralty Candidate In Central Philippines

CEBU (Mindanao Examiner / 02 May) – Unidentified gunman shot dead a mayoralty candidate in an attack Wednesday in Cebu, police said.

Police said Rogelio Ilustrisimo, who was running as mayor In Santa Fe town in Cebu’s Bantayan island, was killed instantly. The motive of the killing is still unknown, but police suspect the attack was probably connected to politics.

Filipinos are to elect their senators and congressman and local officials in the May 14 elections. Philippine elections are traditionally violent and bloody.

Just last week, a gunman killed Mayor Julian Resuello, of San Carlos City in Pangasinan province, north of Manila. One of his police escort was also killed in the attack.

Angelito Soriano, the suspect in the murder of the mayor, who was wounded in a firefight with police, has been arrested at a hospital in San Carlos City. (Mindanao Examiner)

Suspek Sa Pagpatay Sa Mayor, Huli Na!

MANILA (Mindanao Examiner / 02 Apr) - Hawak na ngayon ng Philippine National Police Region 1 ang isa sa mga suspek sa pagpaslang kay Mayor Julian Resuello ng San Carlos City sa Pangasinan.

Kinumpirma ito ni Region 1 Police Director Chief Superintendent Leopoldo Bataoil bagamat tumanggi pang pangalanan ang salarin na nakatakda ring iprisinta ni PNP Chief Director General Oscar Calderon.

Subalit nabatid kay Task Force Usig head Chief Superintendent Geary Barias na ang suspek ay nakilalang si Angelito Soriano. "Charges have been filed against Angelito Soriano," ani pa ni Barias.

Naniniwala si Barias na may kinalaman sa pulitika ang pagpatay kay Resuello."We believe this killing is politically motivated," wika pa nito, ngunit hindi naman ito nagbigay ng karagdagang detalye ukol sa krimen dahil patuloy umano ang imbestigasyon sa naturang pagpatay.

Natagpuan sa isa sa mga pagamutan sa Pangasinan ang naturang suspek matapos na masugatan sa nakalipas na pakikipag-engkuwentro sa mga awtoridad nang isakatuparan ang krimen.

Ayon kay Bataoil, positibong tinukoy ng isa mga sugatan ring pulis ang nasakoteng suspek.

Samantala, mula sa P300, 000 reward money ay itinaas na ito sa kalahating milyon upang agarang madakip ang isa pa sa gunmen na lumikida kay Resuello. (Juley Reyes)

Pulisya Nag-Alok Ng Bounty Para Madakip Ang Killer Ng Mayor!

MANILA (Mindanao Examiner . 01 May) - Nagpalabas na ngayon ng P300,000 pabuya ang Philippine National Police upang agarang maresolba ang kasong pagpaslang kay Mayor Julian Resuello, ng San Carlos City sa lalawigan ng Pangasinan.

Kasabay nito'y nabatid kay Chief Superintendent Leopoldo Bataoil, hepe ng Police Regional Office 1, na hawak na rin nito ang artist's sketch ng isa sa mga suspek na nakilala ng testigo bilanng alyas Kabesa, 40 anyos, tinatayang 5'3" ang taas, katamtaman ang pangangatawan at armado ng kalibre 45 nang isakatuparan ang krimen.

Kanina ay ipinamahagi na rin ang sketch sa mga mamamahayag.

Ang naturang reward naman ay nilikom rin ng mga mamamayang naghahangad ng mabilis na resolusyon sa insidente.

Patuloy pa rin sinisiyasat at tinutugis ng pulisya ang iba pang mga kasabwat sa pagpatay kay Resuello, kasama ang civilian aide nito at pagkasugat ng pitong iba pa.

Dalawang suspek na pinaniniwalaang hired killers ang sinasabing bumaril kay Resuello at sa mga aide nito sa loob ng auditorium sa lalawigan.

Nasawi on the spot ang security escort ng alkalde na si Eulogio Martinez habang pumanaw na rin sa St. Luke's Medical Center kahapon ng umaga. Bunsod ng insidente, nasa ilalim na ngayon ng kontrol ng Comelec ang San Carlos City.

Si Resuello ay kakandidatong bise alkalde ng San Carlos habang ang anak nito na si Julier ang tumatakbo sa pagka-alkalde. (Juley Reyes)

After U.N. And Melo Reports, The Political Killings Still Continue In Philippines...

NORTH COTABATO (Mindanao Examiner / 14 Mar) – Family and relatives of a slain militant farmer in North Cotabato province are demanding justice as militant groups and political activists condemned the killing.

Carlito Getrosa, 49, a member of Bayan Muna in Pigcawayan town here, was shot in the head by three masked motorcycle gunmen in front of his terrified family at the weekend.

His group said Gertrosa was the 875th victim of political killings since President Gloria Arroyo assumed the presidency in 2001.

"The recent killing bears the usual pattern and same purpose for which all the cases of political killings in the country are done. The crimes are getting intolerable and unforgivable that we condemn in highest terms Gloria Arroyo for staying numb and inefficient," Bayan Muna Rep. Joel Virador said.

Virador said the extra-judicial killings in the Philippines continue unabated despite the investigations of the United Nations and the independent Melo Commission. Both investigations point to soldiers as allegedly responsible to most of the murders, an accusation strongly denied by the Philippine military.

The United States Senate is currently investigating the extra-judicial killings in the Philippines. Summary executions are also rampant in the southern cities of Zamboanga, Davao, Digos and Cebu in the central Philippines.

“While the culprits remain vindicated and the killings continue with impunity, the families of the victims are blatantly denied of the justice they lawfully deserve.”

"The Arroyo regime is seemed unmoved by the recommendations of the (UN investigator Philip) Alston and Melo reports that no concrete steps are being taken to truthfully investigate the alleged participation of the Armed Forces of the Philippines to the killings," Virador said.

He said the attacks against the leaders and members of Bayan Muna and other progressive party list groups opposed to Arroyo’s rule are all meant to discredit them in the mid-year elections.

Bayan Muna and other allied party list groups have topped recent independent surveys in the Philippines.

The military branded the militant groups as front of the outlawed Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing, the New People’s Army rebels. It accused Bayan Muna and other groups of channeling funds to the rebels in support of their armed struggle to topple the democratic government and install a Marxist state in the country. (Mindanao Examiner)

Gunmen Kill Peasant Leader In South RP

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 09 Feb) – Unidentified gunmen shot dead a peasant leader in an attack in the southern Philippine town of Salay, police and military said.

Police said the gunmen barged into the house of Dalmacio Gandinao on Thursday and shot him in front of his horrified family. The assailants escaped after the attack.

Gandinao was eating dinner with his wife and children when the gunmen broke into their home. No group claimed responsibility for the attack. But followers of the 39-year old leader of the militant group called Bayan Muna blamed soldiers for the murder.

The military said it is also investigating the killing, which coincided with the passage this week of the anti-terror bill in the committees of Congress and Senate. Militant groups said the anti-terror bill would be used by the government to silence political activists.

Police said the man was shot several times in the body. A television news video on Friday showed policemen inspecting what appeared a bullet wound at the back of Gandinao.

More than 200 people, mostly political activists, had died in similar attacks last year and Gandinao was 11th to have been murdered since January. (Mindanao Examiner)

Political Killings In RP Leaves 21 Church People Dead

MANILA (Mindanao Examiner / 01 Feb) - At least 21 church people had been killed in a spate of attacks the past years in the Philippines, aside from hundreds of militant leaders and activists opposed to the Arroyo government.

Dozens of journalists were also killed because of their work. An independent commission investigating the killings linked soldiers to most of the murders.

The Church Office for International Network in the Philippines (CONTAK Philippines) listed the following casualties:

1. PASTOR MARCELINO DELA CRUZ
28 May 2001 - Killing of Marcelino dela Cruz, a United Methodist Church Pastor in San Jose, Tarlac.

2. PASTOR JOSE BUENDIA
19 November 2003 - Killing of Jose Buendia, 39 years old who was former Born-Again Pastor. Around 5:30AM a group of alleged soldiers under the 71st Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army raided the house of Jose Buendia in Barangay Matawi, Dingalan, Aurora, Philippines. Without any warning and under the cover of the night they surrpinded the house and started shooting at it. Jose came out to plead for their lives but was hit and instantly died. His face was shattered due to the strength of the firepower. Josie and their children managed to stay inside the house unharmed but very much shaken.

3. ISAIAS MANANO
28 April 2004 - Killing of Isaias Manano, resident of Brgy. Nacoco, Clapan City, Mindoro, Oriental, Member of the UCCP-Christian Youth Fellowship (CYF) and Anakpawis Party-list Mindoro.

4. JOEL BACLAO
10 November 2004 - Killing of Joel Baclao, member of UCCP/ coordinator of Andurog Mayon, the Relief and Rehabilitation work of the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP) for victims of the Mayon Volcano eruption, National Council Member of the Promotion of Church People's Response (PCPR) in Bicol.

5. JUANCHO SANCHEZ
16 November 2004 - Massacre of 7 workers and supporters of Hacienda Luisita strike, including Juancho Sanchez, member of UCCP-CYF Tarlac.

6. VICENTE OLEA23 November 2004 - Killing of Vicente Olea, 71-year old UCCP member in San Vicente, Palawan.

7. ABE SUNGIT
5 February 2005 - Killing of Abe Sungit, leader of indigenous people in Palawan, member of United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP) - IDPIP (Indigenous People's Program), Karapatan-Palawan and PAGSAMBATAN.

8. FR. WILLIAM TADENA
13 March 2005 - Killing of Fr. William Tadena, resident of Brgy. Matindeg, Pura, Tarlac, member of IFI and PCPR in Tarlac; frustrated killing of 3 companions - Carlos Barsolazo, Charlie Gabriel and Ervina Domingo (church workers). Fr. Tadena was an active supporter of the Hacienda Luisita workers.

9. PASTOR HABLITO SOLINA
11 April 2005 - Killing of Hablito Solina, a church worker of People's Missionary Church.10. ALFREDO DAVIS15 April 2005 - Killing of Alfredo Davis, member of UCCP Mahaplag, Leyte at the vicinity of Mahaplag, Leyte. His father was a former chairperson of a regional alliance of peasant organizations.

11. REV. EDISON LAPUS
12 May 2005 - Killing of UCCP Conference Minister Edison Lapus, of Sitio Motor, Brgy. Crossing, San Isidro, Leyte, member of PCPR, Karapatan and Bayan Muna.

12. REV. RAUL DOMINGO
20 August 2005 -Rev. Raul Domingo, of Brgy. San Jose, Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, member of UCCP and Kapatirang Simbahan para sa Bayan (Kasimbayan) and Secretary General of Karapatan in Palawan was shot and seriously wounded. On September 4, Rev. Domingo died at the hospital.

13. JOSE MANEGDEG III
29 November 2005 - Killing of Jose ‘Pepe' Manegdeg III, of Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte, member of Rural Missionaries of the Philippines (RMP), former staff of the Regional Ecumenical Council in the Cordillera (RECCORD) and former volunteer of the NCCP Ecology Program. He was killed along the National Highway at Barangay Apatot, San Esteban, Ilocos Sur.

14. JUNICO HALEM
6 December 2005 - Killing of Junico Halem, member of UCCP and Bayan Muna municipal coordinator in Aluran, Misamis Occidental.

15. MATEO MORALES
24 January 2006 - Killing of Mateo Morales, lay worker for the Religious of the Good Shepherd's Tribal Filipino Ministry, which assists Banwaon and Manobo tribal communities in Agusan del Sur. He was shot at his home in Brgy. Dona Flavia, San Luis, Agusan Del Sur province.

16. NESTOR ARINQUE
7 March 2006 - Nestor Arinque of Brgy. San Roque, Mabini, Bohol, was shot to death by three unidentified men in a motorcycle. Nestor Arinque was the chairman of Hugpong sa Mag-uuma sa Mabini or Organization of Peasants in Mabini (HUMABI), a municipal chapter of Hugpong sa Mag-uumang Bol-anon (HUMABOL), a province-wide federation of farmers in Bohol province. HUMABOL is an affiliate of Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas or Peasant Movement of the Philippines (KMP), a nationwide farmer's organization in the Philippines. Arinque was also an active member, and previously the local church council chairman of the UCCP in Mabini, Bohol. The incident happened at Brgy. Abaca, Mabini at around 12:30 in the afternoon, in front of the house of a certain Gregorio Fostanes.

17. REV. JEMIAS TINAMBACAN
9 May 2006 - around 5:30 pm, while traveling in Oroquieta City, Rev. Jemias Tinambacan of UCCP Calaran, Misamis Occidental, was shot to death by four armed men riding in motorcycle. His wife Rev. Marilou Tinambacan was also injured.

18. PASTOR ANDY PAWICANMay 21, 2006 - Pastor Andy Pawikan, 30 years old, Licenciate Pastor of UCCP Pantabangan, Nueva Ecija, forcibly taken, tortured and believed killed around 4pm when a gunshot was heard, on May 21, 2006.

His body was recovered at 8am the following morning. Pastor Andy was on his way home from Sunday Worship with his wife, children and other women. He was forcibly taken away allegedly by troops from the 48th Infantry Battalion-AFP. It is alleged that the motivation of the 48th Infantry was to extract information on a recent encounter of the AFP and the NPA; insurgents were alleged to have hidden somewhere near the area.

Two other persons are also still missing (both were companions of Pastor Andy Pawikan in resolving the Kaingin issue against possible landowners). PNP-San Jose City reported a legitimate encounter as the cause of Pastor Pawikan's death; the absurdity of this claim is not only backed by eye-witness but the reality that Pastor Pawikan was wearing a Barong Tagalog when killed. Furthermore, the municipality of Pantabangan refused the UCCP-Fact Finding Team entrance to the area.

19. NOEL NOLI CAPULONG
May 27, 2006 - Mr. Noel Noli Capulong, 51 years old, Member of UCCP Calamba, Laguna and Chairperson of the Christian Witness and Service of UCCP Northeast Southern Tagalog Conference, gunned down around 6pm, May 27, 2006. Noli Capulong left a meeting with a Barangay Captain at Barangay Paraian, Calamba, to attend a prayer meeting for his ill siblings.

He was driving a private jeep. He was gunned down by two men on a motorcycle wearing bonnets. He sustained four gunshot wounds and was declared dead on arrival when taken to a hospital only 50 meters away. Mr. Noli Capulong was Deputy Secretary General of Bayan Muna TK, regional staff of Bagong Alianza Makabayan, and spokesperson for the Southern Tagalog Environmental Advocacy Movement (STEAM).

20. TITO MARATA
17 June 2006 - Tito Marata was the provincial officer of the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines and a member of the Farmers for Agrarian Reform Movement.

21. PASTOR ISAIAS STA. ROSA
3 August 2006 - Pastor Isaias Sta. Rosa, a United Methodist Church Pastor in Daraga, Albay, was found dead on Thursday night near a creek moments after being shot by 10 masked gunmen outside his house. Cpl. Lordger Pastrana of the Philippine Army was also found dead beside Pastor Sta. Rosa.

The gunmen went first to the house of his brother, Jonathan, who lives in the same compound, before they went to Pastor Sta. Rosa. Jonathan identified Cpl. Pastrana as one of the 10 alleged gunmen who went to his house moments before Pastor Sta. Rosa was killed.

Church Office for International Network in the Philippines (CONTAK Philippines)

2/F UCCP National Offices

877 EDSA, West Triangle, Quezon City PHILIPPINES

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Filipino Labor Leader Killed, 2 Others Wounded In Ambush

CAVITE PROVINCE - Barely six months after a failed ambush of EMI-Yazaki Workers’ Union president Gerry Cristobal, his successor was killed Monday morning just outside the company in Imus town in Cavite province, southwest of Manila, the International Labor and Solidarity Mission Philippines reported.

It said labor leader and organizer Jesus Butch Servida just came out from Gate 2 of EMI-Yazaki when motorcycle men, armed with .45-caliber pistols, shot and killed him.

Two of his co-workers were also wounded. Joel Sali and a still unidentified companion were brought to the hospital. The motive of the attack was unknown, but militant groups blamed authorities for the killing.

Servida assumed presidency of the 7,000-strong EMI-Yazaki Workers’ Union after the failed assassination of union president Gerry Cristobal on May 1.Cristobal was later terminated from his job for a still unknown reason.

The militant group, Pagkakaisa ng Manggagawa sa Timog Katagalugan (PAMANTIK-KMU or Solidarity of Workers in Southern Tagalog), condemned Servida’s killing and the attack on 2 other unionists.

“The government has done nothing to look into the matter of all these killings of union leaders and members. Ironically, it has even gone worse in the past weeks and months,” said Luz Baculo, PAMANTIK secretary-general.

The group accused the police and military as behind the shooting. Officials were not immediately available to dispute the allegations.